Under a Full Moon
by MyCedarChest
Summary: Sequel to The Sense of Touch. Tony's road to fatherhood hasn't always been smooth, but sometimes the bumps let you appreciate the journey just a little more.
1. Chapter 1

**Most of the characters in this story belong to Marvel Comics and whoever else has current legal ownership of Iron Man and not to me, even in my wildest dreams. No infringement on anyone's rights is intended in any way. This story is not being written for profit.**

**This story was written for all of you who wanted a sequel to my story "The Sense of Touch". I sincerely appreciated your kind words and encouragement and I hope that you enjoy this story. :) **

His eyes opened, suddenly wide awake as he became aware of an eerie silver light flooding their bedroom. He sighed with relief as he realized that the source was just the light from the full moon now rising above the mountain tops. He looked at the time: 3:22AM. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on going back to sleep. His arms gently pulled the woman beside him a little closer and he felt her move fitfully in her sleep. He turned his head back to her and nuzzled her neck tenderly.

"Shhhh Baby Mama" he whispered into her skin "I love you." He felt her squirm one more time as she repositioned her legs with his, raising one hip up slightly trying to get comfortable as she lay on her side. He spooned up against her back and his left hand began to stroke her belly soothingly. He moved his right hand out from under their pillow to gently brush her hair back from her forehead. He heard her sigh softly as she stilled once more.

Thirty six weeks and one day. That's how long they had been man and wife. And if their calculations were correct thirty six weeks and one day is exactly how long she has been pregnant. He smiled to himself recalling their wedding night. He could now feel the twins moving under his left hand, and he knew that their movements had probably caused his wife's restlessness. Since the very first time he felt them move under his hands months ago, he always had a sense of wonderment every time he felt those tiny arms and legs so busy under his touch. It was simply amazing. Although he would never confess it to anyone except his wife of course, he had cried the first time he felt them move. Up until that moment, it just didn't seem real to him that he was going to be a father. When he was younger he had never in his life wanted to be a father. But that changed the day he met one Pepper Potts.

"Stark Babies" he whispered, his voice low and soothing as he continued stroking her swollen belly gently "let your Mamma rest." He was positive that his unborn children could feel his hand and hear his voice. After all, he and Jarvis had done the research and found supporting documentation confirming this. He smiled as the babies seemed to settle back down to sleep again. He was hoping that they would mind as well after they were born.

Pepper had been restless the past two days. She had insisted on cleaning the entire house. This housekeeping frenzy of hers made no sense at all to Tony, who continued to fuss at her as he and Happy followed her about the house trying to stay one step of ahead of her in her self imposed whirlwind of activity.

While they were dusting off the fire place mantel in the living room, Tony noticed that her baby bump had moved lower on her body from earlier that day. "Does it feel like the babies have moved, Pepper?" he had asked her. "Because your baby bump sure looks like it has moved lower on your body."

Pepper stood up straight and took a deep breath. "Definitely." She replied looking at him with a small smile on her face "I am having a much easier time breathing now." And with that she walked/waddled quickly into the next room to be cleaned with Tony and Happy right on her heels.

Her grandmother, Charlotte insisted that this sudden burst of energy meant Pepper would go into labor soon. She had called it the 'nesting instinct'. Charlotte had also remarked that the full moon would also help labor get started too. Tony tried not to get too excited. Pepper's grandmother did have a lot of practical experience not only from having children of her own but also from being a midwife for the birth of 62 other children throughout the years. She was a licensed midwife and a member of the Arizona Association of Midwives. Pepper's OB Gyn, Dr. Karen Summers, who was Pepper's roommate from their freshman year in college and lifelong friend also sponsored the midwives of northern Arizona and provided free of charge assistance to them. Dr. Summer's birthing center was part of the support network for the midwives, assisting women who had complications in childbirth. Pepper believed she was in very capable hands and Tony, of course, trusted her judgment implicitly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Most of the characters in this story belong to Marvel Comics and whoever else has current legal ownership of Iron Man and not to me, even in my wildest dreams. No infringement on anyone's rights is intended in any way. This story is not being written for profit.**

**This story was written for all of you who wanted a sequel to my story "The Sense of Touch". I sincerely appreciated your kind words and encouragement and I hope that you enjoy this story. :) **

Karen had remarked to them during Pepper's check up two days ago, much to Tony's surprise and Pepper's obvious delight, that having sex would also help to speed up the onset of labor. It seems sperm contains a hormone that helps to soften the cervix. Pepper didn't need to be told twice. They had made love three times that evening, two times the next morning, three times that evening, three times the following morning, and three times last night. Tony was positive that he had had more orgasms in the past 36 weeks than he had had in his entire life. Pepper had never suffered from morning sickness, so her overactive hormone-induced sex drive had been in high gear from the very beginning of her pregnancy. Tony had always had an over active libido, but a pregnant Pepper was definitely giving him some serious competition in the libido department now.

He was hoping that her labor wouldn't be bad enough to make her not want any more children, because he was thoroughly enjoying her being pregnant. But surprisingly **not** for the sex, because making love with Pepper was always amazing, but just being around her and doting on her with the realization that a part of him now lived in her. It gave him this weird sense of destiny. And being pregnant just seemed to make Pepper…. **happy**. And her happiness was very important to him.

She was not happy, however, when her normally flat tummy began to change 11 weeks into her pregnancy.

They had just finished their morning shower and Pepper clutched her bath towel in her hands as she stood transfixed at the full length mirror next to the double sinks.

"Oh my god!" She said quietly as she turned to the side looking at her reflection in profile.

Tony stumbled out of the shower still hazy from a breathtaking orgasm just minutes ago, courtesy of his wife of three and a half months. He immediately turned to look at her, concerned over the worry in her voice. He suddenly became worried too when he saw the expression on her face.

"No, no, **no**!" she said running her hands down to her lower abdomen. "I **can't **be showing already!"

Tony's shoulders sagged with relief knowing now the source of her concern as he focused his eyes on her body, starting at her breasts of course and moving lower following her hands. There it was: **The Stark Baby Bump**. Tony was ecstatic. He was suddenly as proud of that baby bump as much as he was those rings on her left hand. He had always been possessive of her and now that she was carrying **his** children, he wanted the whole world to know about it. It had been nearly killing him keeping Pepper's pregnancy a secret at Pepper's request up until now. He hadn't even told Happy or Rhody. The former highly suspecting, and the latter highly hoping. The presence of the Stark baby bump meant that Pepper was finally going to have to go public with her pregnancy, and that he could now have total bragging rights over knocking up the love of his life.

Tony quickly moved to hug her tightly, pulling her towel from her arms and dropping in on to the floor. With Tony Jr. sated and resting against one thigh, he could feel her baby bump pressed up against his abdomen now. He smiled against the side of her head "You're gorgeous…your baby bump is gorgeous." He breathed out tilting his head so he could kiss her on the temple. "I love you so much. And I love our babies."

She sighed deeply, her shoulders noticeably sagging. "I didn't want to release a press statement until I was at least fourteen weeks, and this is only week eleven, Tony." Her voice full of concern.

Tony leaned back and looked at her. Something was going on in her head that continued to worry her. "What's up Pep?" he asked softly "Everything's OK, right?"

She pulled him into her tightly, her breath noticeably hitching in her throat. "My mom miscarried twice, both of them at twelve weeks. I'm just scared that the miscarriages were somehow genetic and that I am predisposed to miscarry."

Tony hugged her tightly back and then started moving his hands up and down her back, stroking her lovingly. "Karen says everything is going good for you and the babies. And you know that your mom had been sick both times she had a miscarriage. **You** are very healthy and you're going to **stay** that way. A little too much stress at work, but your new assistants will soon fix that."

"I know, I know." She said her voice muffled against his shoulder. "It's just that my damn hormones get the best of me sometimes."

Suddenly Tony got an idea. "Hey, you are the big boss now and you can do what you damn well please as far as work schedules go." He said "Just work out of the house on Mondays and Fridays. I can go in with you on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and play decoy for the paparazzi and press. You know I'm really **good** at being distracting." He waggled his eyebrows at her and she rolled her eyes at him in response. He lowered his voice suggestively. "You can wear those Versace dresses that I bought for you that have are designed to be loose around the middle and no one will be the wiser. How much can our babies grow in three weeks anyways?"

Apparently quite a bit. Tony noticed every day that her baby bump continued to grow in size. And he was pretty sure that he wasn't imagining it. Pepper's baby bump had now become Tony's default hand position in the weeks that followed. When they were alone together, one or both of Tony's hands invariably found their way to her growing belly. He had to really watch himself in public because his wondering hands always tried to make their way to her baby bump. He knew that they couldn't show their hand (or bump in this case) just yet.

So Pepper altered her schedule and Tony proved to be very distracting, but surprisingly discrete, when they were together in public. Decoy Tony combined with her change in wardrobe seemed to have temporarily solved the baby bump early exposure issue.

Pepper had to go shopping for another dress for the next charity ball they were having on Saturday, just two weeks after the initial appearance of the Stark baby bump, because she realized that none of her other dresses fit now. Tony had gone with her to help pick out the dress. He realized then as he was in the large dressing room with her that more than just her tummy was changing. Her hips were getting fuller as were her breasts. She looked absolutely radiant. And he was now faced with the added dilemma of keeping his hands (and mouth too) on only the PG rated areas of her body when they were in public. He and self control were still new to one another, and he feared that his new found friend and he were about to be put to the test.

"Hey Hap" Tony said cheerfully as the Bentley pulled up to the red carpet entrance to the gala on Saturday evening "Pick us up in 2 hours. My baby mama and me have a romantic date planned for later." Tony had called Pepper his Baby Mama for nearly as long as they had known each other. It was one of his many pet names for her and was usually used when he was either drunk or high or both. Tonight he was neither. But, as usual Happy simply just ignored Tony.

Happy looked at Pepper in the rear view mirror who nodded in agreement after smiling at him. "Sure thing." Happy replied getting out of the car and moving to open the door for them.

Tony stepped out of the car and turned back extending both hands into the back seat to retrieve Pepper who graciously accepted his hands as he pulled her gently out of the car.

As usual, camera flashes began going off and reporters started calling them by name trying to bait them into a few words. Tony smiled at Pepper as he gathered her into his arms ignoring both the paparazzi and the press. As was their custom, Tony and Pepper would turn back to pose for the cameras just before entering the building. However this time when they posed Tony's hand instinctively moved to cover her baby bump possessively, accompanied by a look on Tony's face that screamed to the world 'I'm the proud Daddy!'

Tony realized too late what he was doing and before he could move his hand, he saw more flashes go off. He quickly moved his hand to her hip, kissed her soundly on the lips and pulled her inside the entrance to the hall as the flashes continued.

Tony tried his best to forget about his blunder, and he managed to behave himself for the next two hours. Surprisingly Pepper acted as if nothing had happened. Tony thought she may have just become so accustomed to his hands on her baby bump by now that she may not have even noticed what he had done. During the gala it was business as usual for them: he stayed at Pepper's side, drank ginger ale, and threatened any male who came within 5 feet of Pepper. And Pepper, as usual, was at Tony's side, sipped the ginger ale Tony brought her, and her grace, warmth, and charm soothed any hurt feelings over Tony's protective behavior.

Happy was waiting for them when they left the ball. Only a few press were still left covering the front of the building, but unfortunately they proved to be most unfriendly towards SI in general and Tony and Pepper in particular as they shouted out outrageous questions and comments most of them containing the words 'mass murder', murderer, or killer'. That night the press's behavior had annoyed him even more than usual and Tony had to restrain himself from throwing the bird up instead of his trademark peace sign at them as they left. But within 20 seconds of exiting the building he had Pepper safely in the Bentley and Happy began pulling out into traffic and away from the hall.

"Congratulations Boss." Happy had said out loud as he began to drive. "I saw the picture on the web. I thought something was going on with you, and I was hoping it was a good thing."

"What picture Hap?" Pepper replied too anxiously to suit Tony.

He suddenly got a bad feeling about the direction that this particular conversation was headed.

Happy handed her his iphone and Tony craned his neck so he could see the photo too.

"Pepper wouldn't let me tell you Hap. She wanted to keep it quiet until after she was past the 14 week point." He defended as he looked the photo over. He felt Pepper stiffen under his arm as she gazed at it. He had to admit the photo was a good one. But he also knew that the accompanying text was going to send Pepper through the roof.

'**Looks like there is an Iron Baby on the way for Pepper and Tony Stark.' **

Within seconds, Pepper's Blackberry went off. Pepper recognized the number and answered it quickly. "Good evening Charles." She said feigning a calm and sweet voice at without question the crankiest, most obstinate, and genuine pain-in-the-ass member of SI's Board of Directors. "Why thank you. Please tell your wife thank you too. So very nice of you to call. Yes, I will be sure to pass your kind words on to Mr. Stark. Have a nice evening."

In the dim light of the back seat, Tony was fairly certain he saw smoke coming out of Pepper's ears. She moved away from him slightly, turning in her seat belt to look him dead in the eyes. She didn't have to say anything at all. After 15 minutes of non-stop ringing, Pepper just turned her phone off. Tony knew at that point that he was in deep trouble. Tony didn't even want to look at his cell phone, currently on silent and buried deep inside his tux pocket.

The rest of the ride home just like his phone setting: silent. Yes, Tony could** definitely** smell smoke. He helped her out of the Bentley and they made their way in continued silence to their living room. He tried to join her in the elevator for the ride up to their bed room, but she held out one hand in stop to him. Tony recognized the 'I need some space' gesture from her and he immediately stopped short of the elevator door. As the door closed between them, Tony turned to withdraw to his workshop, still in his tux.

As he tinkered with a new invention, an hour passed with no sign of Pepper. It was getting late and he was bone tired. He sat down at his desk and put his head down on the smooth top and closed his eyes, wishing that he had been able to control himself at the ball. But touching her growing belly had already become a habit for him. Yes, he knew Pepper was upset, but he found himself actually proud of that picture. He had no idea how long he had been there in the workshop asleep when she woke him with a kiss on the top of his head as she placed a hi-def copy of the 'picture' mounted in a 'World's Best Dad' frame on his workshop desk right next to the picture of him and his dad. With a soft smile she then led him upstairs into their bedroom and they made love for hours as the night slowly turned to morning. SI stocks soared on Monday after Pepper issued her press release announcing her pregnancy. It seemed that stock market analysts had high hopes for the future of Stark Industries now that there were heirs to the Stark throne.


	3. Chapter 3

**Most of the characters in this story belong to Marvel Comics and whoever else has current legal ownership of Iron Man and not to me, even in my wildest dreams. No infringement on anyone's rights is intended in any way. This story is not being written for profit.**

**This story was written for all of you who wanted a sequel to my story "The Sense of Touch". I sincerely appreciated your kind words and encouragement and I hope that you enjoy this story. :) **

Even with her busy schedule, Pepper had continued her exercise routines and yoga throughout her pregnancy, and as a result her body was still strong and, in Tony's engineering opinion, very capable of carrying around the 38 extra pounds of unbalanced load. Pepper became insistent that both she and Tony eat good, healthy foods. After the second week of vegetables, he was certain that he would never again look at spinach the same way ever again. She cooked more often and he pitched in and helped her whenever she let him, which became more often as her pregnancy progressed. Being a genius however, Tony did manage to sneak in a few pizzas and greasy burgers with Happy on the side without Pepper getting too suspicious.

Much to Tony's delight, her body continued to change steadily during the course of her pregnancy: her hips had become noticeably fuller and more rounded, her belly had grown to the size of a large beach ball, and her breasts had grown by two cup sizes creating quite a stir in Tony's pants anytime he happened to look at her, which, of course, was all the time. Tony had always thought she was gorgeous, but being pregnant had added an irresistible glow to her skin that made him want to crawl in bed with her and never get out again.

Pepper suddenly jerked awake in his arms, rousing him quickly from his thoughts. "Tony" she said quietly "I need to go to the bathroom."

Tony immediately rolled out of bed and quickly rounded the bed to offer a hand to Pepper in getting up. He pulled her up gently and wrapped one arm around her as they walked slowly towards the master bath. They had barely made it in inside the master bath when Pepper stopped suddenly, looking down.

Tony looked down also and saw a trickle of clear liquid running down one of her thighs. "I'm sorry sweetheart" he apologized "I didn't get you in here quick enough." He was well aware of Pepper's bladder control being compromised due to her advanced state of pregnancy.

Pepper turned to him with a look of near panic in her eyes. "Tony" she panted in pain as a strong contraction overcame her. "My water just broke."

Tony looked up at her and noticed the pain in her eyes. "How long have you been having contractions?" he asked breathlessly.

"Since about 1:00 AM." She winced. "I thought they were just the Braxton-Hicks again, but they have gotten stronger the past two hours and changing positions hasn't helped."

She and Tony had just finished making love for the last time around midnight. Tony was getting worried now. "How far apart are the contractions? And how long are they lasting?"

"They are about 20 minutes apart and are lasting about one minute or so." She said between groans. "I've been using the clock on the night table as my timer, but I've been dozing off and on, so I'm not exact on my measurements."

"You should have woken me up." He gently fussed at her. Making love to her always sent him into a deep post orgasmic sleep which he knew he was very difficult to rouse from. He suddenly felt bad. He hadn't been there for her during her first real contractions. "I'm so sorry that I slept through your contractions."

"You look so cute when you sleep, I just didn't have the heart to wake you." She replied gritting her teeth, noting the sadness in his eyes. "And besides, I wasn't really convinced that they weren't Braxton-Hicks, either."

He smiled at her and pulled a chair over for her to sit on while he got out a wash rag and began to gently wash her off. He noticed that the fluid was slightly yellow and had a surprisingly sweet smell to it. He looked up at her and smiled again. "Jarvis, engage protocol 'Special Delivery'." He quickly said looking at his watch. "Contractions started around 1:00 AM and are 20 minutes apart, duration of contractions approximately one minute. Water broke at 3:30 AM. Fluid color slightly yellow and sweet smelling."

"Affirmative, sir." Jarvis said quietly. "I will begin making calls immediately. How long will it be before you and Mrs. Stark will be ready to leave for Dr. Summer's clinic?"

Tony looked at Pepper with thinly disguised amusement. "No makeup or primping for you this morning Mrs. Stark." He teased. "Ten minutes, Jarvis. That should give Hap enough time."

"And Jarvis be sure and make the family and friend's calls at a more suitable hour." Pepper added. "With first borns, labor is always the longest. No sense in waking people up unnecessarily."

"Acknowledged." The AI affirmed. "Mr. Hogan is already on his way. He should be arriving about the time you will be ready to leave."

"Thanks, Jarvis." Pepper replied.

"My pleasure Madam." Jarvis said "The Stark household will be eagerly awaiting you and the children's return home."

"You better be including me in that." Tony interjected, leaning down to kiss her softly on the lips.

"But of course, sir." The AI replied sarcastically "We do of course, recognize the **small** part that you played in the act of fertilization."

Tony glared and shook his fist in mock anger at the camera in the master bath as Pepper chuckled quietly at his antics. Tony grinned at her as he wet a washrag and began to gently clean her legs. Pepper ran her fingers through his thick, dark hair in a loving gesture as he continued to clean her. After he finished and carefully dried her with a soft towel, he slowly pulled her up out of the chair and led her back to their bed. He lowered her down gently onto the bed and then walked over to her dresser. Pepper had started to relax as her contraction subsided. She was soon back to normal, or as normal as you can be while expecting twins at any moment. As he turned his back on her and starting pulling out clothes for her to wear, he instinctively knew that she had her eyes glued to his backside, and in particular his ass.

"Ten minutes is long enough for us to… you know." She teased keeping her voice low and sexy and trying to lighten the mood "You know we won't get to do it again for a couple of weeks at least."

Tony had started pulling out clothes for her to wear, when he stopped and looked over his shoulder at her in disbelief. "Here you are going into labor, and all you can think about is sex." He replied frowning. "I have created a monster!"

She laughed quietly as came back over to her with a pair of panties, socks, a large bright yellow t-shirt that had "Construction Zone" printed on it, and a pair of cotton sweatpants. He gently helped her put her panties and sweatpants on. She pulled on the t-shirt. Tony pulled on her socks and gently placed her feet in a pair of running shoes that were comfortable on her, lacing up the shoes carefully.

"Well, at least I will be able to see my feet again soon." She said quietly.

Tony could hear a little fear creeping back into Pepper's voice again. Pepper had always been afraid of being the center of attention. As CEO, she was getting more use to it, but she still disliked it. He continued to watch her as she took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a second. Giving birth to the twins would no doubt be easy for her. Putting up with being the center of attention for the foreseeable future would not be.

Tony recognized her breathing pattern. She was slipping into battle mode. Pepper was one of the toughest people he had ever met. Her high tolerance to pain, both emotional and physical, intelligence, strength, and endurance were remarkable. Pepper had decided on natural childbirth for the twins. Dr. Summers had given them personalized instruction on natural childbirth which let them know exactly what to expect pain-wise, and had given them the techniques that would help both physically lessen the pain, as well as increase Pepper's ability to mentally deal with labor pain. Pepper and Tony had been practicing the techniques using breath control, massage, pressure points, and body stretches and positioning. Karen had taught them how to use the birthing/labor ball and they had practiced the different positions using the ball. They had a MP3 player full of her favorite music, massage oils, and aromatic oils that would be used to help relax and comfort Pepper packed away already in their 'birthing' bags.

These bags had been packed for two weeks. As usual, Pepper wanted to leave nothing to chance. The bags went with them wherever they went just to be safe. Dr. Summer's clinic had the birthing center on the second floor, and the clinic itself was only two blocks from a major hospital. A generous donation from Tony to the hospital's pediatric wing recently had assured Pepper of immediate care just in case they encountered difficulties during delivery.

Tony quickly put on underwear, jeans and a thick black t-shirt which hid the arc from casual detection. He finished up by pulling on some comfortable running shoes.

"Mr. Hogan has just arrived." Jarvis informed them.

"He must have run the entire way." Pepper commented as they heard heavy footsteps quickly coming down the hallway ending with a gentle knock on their bedroom door.

"Come in." Pepper said as Happy opened the door. Happy was trying hard not to pant, but Pepper noticed a line on sweat on his brow. "Happy slow down and calm down."

"Do what she says, Hap." Tony said picking up their birthing bags "I can't carry both you and Pepper if you pass out on me."

"Very funny." Happy replied taking the two bags from him and slinging both of them over one shoulder as he led them out of the bedroom.

Tony put his arm around Pepper and led her into the elevator and then into the garage to the waiting car. Happy quickly placed the bags in the trunk and then got in behind the wheel. There were two Escalades full of SI security there in the garage waiting to accompany them into town and ready to set up security around the clinic. Since it was Sunday, the security team was optimistic that setting up security points around and inside the clinic would be easier than on a weekday.


	4. Chapter 4

**Most of the characters in this story belong to Marvel Comics and whoever else has current legal ownership of Iron Man and not to me, even in my wildest dreams. No infringement on anyone's rights is intended in any way. This story is not being written for profit.**

**This story was written for all of you who wanted a sequel to my story "The Sense of Touch". I sincerely appreciated your kind words and encouragement and I hope that you enjoy this story. :) **

It was a thirty minute trip into the Clinic under the full moon. They didn't even see any other vehicles on the road until they got into town. Pepper had another contraction during the trip which put her now at 15 minutes between contractions, this one lasting 2 minutes. Tony had massaged her back, but in a seated position she couldn't get her back muscles to relax properly no matter how hard Tony tried to massage them. And Tony absolutely forbid her to take her seat belt off for safety reasons. He grimaced as he looked in her eyes. Pepper was definitely in pain, but he was adamant about her wearing the seat belt. Tony continued to massage her back as best he could and kept up a one way conversation of positive encouragement in her ear for the rest of the contraction.

As promised, Dr. Summers was waiting there for them at the door to her clinic. She had two of her nurses with her. The birthing center took up the entire second floor of Karen's building. Happy pulled up and stopped as Tony opened the door up and helped Pepper out. He felt her tense up immediately.

"Another contraction?" he asked as she nodded to him. He quickly tucked her into his side and walked her inside the clinic's doors.

Karen hugged Pepper gently noting the pained expression on her face, "Contractions still at 20 minute spacing?" Dr. Summers asked quickly as she helped Tony get her inside the door.

"No, the last one was only 15 minutes ago." Tony replied "They are lasting over two minutes now."

Karen let go of her and led the way inside past the waiting room and into the elevator leading to the birthing center. Pepper raised her arms and leaned into the wall of the elevator as Tony massaged her lower back gently. When the elevator doors opened they found that the birthing center was currently empty.

"Lets get you in here and comfortable." Karen insisted as she motioned for Tony to help her into Pepper's designated room.

Happy brought up their bags as Tony helped Pepper sit down on the birthing ball in the corner of the room. Tony began to immediately massage her back as she rocked back and forth on the ball. Four of the SI security men had come up the stair well, standing next to the door waiting to get security orders from Happy. Happy placed their bags on a table and then backed out of the room quietly closing the door behind them.

"Wow." Karen teased putting on examination gloves "You two almost look like you know what you are doing."

Pepper shot her a hard look as Tony chuckled. "Yes, we actually listened to you." Pepper said with a grimace. "Amazing isn't it."

"Yeah" Tony added teasingly "especially the part about sex helping to induce labor."

Pepper reached back and poked Tony hard in the ribs making him grab onto her so she wouldn't lose her balance as he laughed in earnest.

"Oh you're testy now, huh?" Karen teased "About 12 hours or so of labor aught to straighten you right out."

Pepper stopped rocking immediately and glared at her. "Not funny, Kar."

Karen just smiled sweetly at her as Pepper grimaced. "Once this contraction is over, you both need to change clothes." She pointed to two sets of clothes on a table next to the bed. "I like to keep my newborns germ free."

Pepper moved to get off the ball as Tony held on to her. He kept one arm around her as she walked towards the bed slowly.

Karen impatiently snapped her fingers as she walked "Lose the clothes, Potts." She ordered "I want to check your cervix for dilation. Then we can get an **approximate **labor time for you."

Tony smiled at Pepper who just rolled her eyes. Tony helped her lay down on the bed. Tony then retrieved the floral top from the table and handed it to Pepper who had already pulled her t-shirt off. He quickly untied her shoes and pulled them off leaving her socks on. He knew that Pepper was cold natured and being barefoot on the clinic floor would be uncomfortable for her.

"Lay back and I will get these pants off." He told her quietly with a gleam in his eyes.

"When have I heard that before?" Pepper deadpanned. "Why yes, I believe that was last night, wasn't it?"

"Maybe." Tony teased pulling her pants gently off of her. He pressed a tender kiss to her tummy when he finished. Then he wrapped the sarong like bottom around her tucking it gently under her baby bump. This bottom provided a certain amount of modesty, but with a great deal of accessibility.

"Enough with the romance already." Karen fussed moving an instrument tray towards the bed. "Remember, that's what got you into this mess, Pepper." She turned and pointed to the restroom. "Daddy, you can change in there. I don't want my patient here getting any more ideas about sex."

Pepper lay on the bed and laughed, relieved and relaxed for this first time in hours. She looked up at the clock on the wall. 4:28 AM.

Tony picked up his scrubs. He noticed that the top had written on it in bold lettering 'I'm the Daddy!' on both the front and back. He smiled and hurried into the private restroom to change. He didn't want to be away from Pepper any longer than absolutely necessary.

He walked back into the room as Karen pulled off her gloves.

"Our girl here is doing great." Karen said happily patting Pepper on the tummy. "Four point five centimeters. Those Stark babies should be out ruling the world by no later than noon."

Pepper looked up at the clock. It was now 4:35 AM. She sighed and looked over at Tony, noticing his scrubs. A smile lit up her face. "Nice duds, Iron Man."

"That's Iron Dad, if you don't mind." He replied leaning over and kissing her on the forehead.

"We're going to get you and the babies wired up now." Karen said as one of her nurses came in to help.

They placed an assortment of telemetry leads on Pepper's tummy as well as strapped a wireless transmitter to her thigh.

"OK" Karen commented as she pulled the Doppler ultrasound cart up to her bed "Let's get a look and see how those Stark babies are doing."

Karen turned the monitor so Pepper could see it from where she was laying in the bed and Tony quickly moved around the bed so he could see too.

"Looks like your daughter will be the first one out of the chute." Karen remarked moving the scanner slowly across her tummy from their daughter to scan their son. "It seems that Tony Jr. here is in no hurry to come out. Why am I not surprised." Dr. Summers paused to shoot an accusational glance at Tony. "They both look comfortable and in good positions for moving into the birth canal when the time comes. The telemetry indicates a low stress level. Using the birthing ball will get gravity to help get the two of them rotated the rest of the way into position. Everything looks good" She continued "Your contractions should increase in length and the time between them will start to shorten quickly now." Dr. Summers turned off the machine and pushed it away from the bed. "Do both yourselves a favor, and try to rest between the contractions. Since you two were apparently following my **orders** about speeding up the onset of labor by having sex, I would wager neither of you much sleep tonight."

As if on cue Pepper reached her hand up to stifle a yawn. "Would it be OK if Tony got in bed with me?"

Tony looked at the bed. It was wide enough for the two of them. Apparently by design.

"I don't see how I can stop you." Karen chuckled as she turned down the lighting in the room at the control panel next to the door. "Just keep your clothes **on**. I don't want you two scaring my nurses."

"I'll do my best to control myself." Pepper laughed as she looked deeply into Tony's eyes as she smiled coyly at him.

Dr. Summers opened the door to leave. "We will be monitoring you and the babies from the nurses' station, but if you need anything at all just press the 'Call' button on the bed's control panel."

As the door closed, he toed off his shoes quickly and moved behind her on the bed as she turned on her side. She sighed as he pulled her gently into his body. He took a deep breath as he nuzzled the back of her head. The scent of her always soothed him. He pushed his nose gently into her neck and placed a tender kiss there as he closed his eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

**Most of the characters in this story belong to Marvel Comics and whoever else has current legal ownership of Iron Man and not to me, even in my wildest dreams. No infringement on anyone's rights is intended in any way. This story is not being written for profit.**

**This story was written for all of you who wanted a sequel to my story "The Sense of Touch". I sincerely appreciated your kind words and encouragement and I hope that you enjoy this story. :) **

Within a minute Pepper tensed. "Tony" she said as she began squirming against him, rousing him immediately. He quickly got to his feet and moved around the bed. "On the ball or against the wall?" He asked as he gently pulled her to her feet.

"The wall." She replied as he led her to the nearest wall.

He held her hips as she leaned against the wall, stretching her back. He quickly moved one hand to her tailbone and rotated his thumb just above it beginning a deep massage of the area. He felt Pepper move her hand further down on the wall and he gripped her a little tighter as she rocked her hips, wanting to make sure that she didn't lose her balance. "Do you want to lay on the ball?" he asked her "You are leaning over too much and getting off balance. It might be better to lean on the ball instead."

She nodded her reply and he gently pulled her against him, hugging her as he leaned his head down to the juncture of her neck and shoulder, kissing her there. "I love you." He whispered as guided her to where the ball was sitting on the floor.

"Please help me kneel, Tony." She replied as he immediately moved his hands to her arm pits as she slowly moved to kneel.

"Wait Pep" he said pulling her gently back up to a standing position "Let me get a pad for your knees." As he quickly grabbed a foam pad from a nearby table and placed it beside the ball. "Here you go."

He gently lowered her until she was kneeling next to the ball. He kneeled behind her as she laid her head and chest on the ball and began to rock. He began to massage her back again. He felt the muscles in her lower back slowly start to loosen under his fingers as the contraction started easing.

As the contraction ended, she slumped onto the ball. Tony immediately stopped massaging her and wrapped his arms around her hips and belly leaning over to gently press his body to hers. "You are doing great you know." He said as he kissed her tenderly on the neck. "Let's get you up and into bed."

He stood up pulling her gently with him and supported her as she walked back to the bed. He helped her get into bed and turn to her side. He quickly slid into bed behind her rubbing her belly tenderly with his left hand and stroking her hair back from her face with his right hand.

"I love you so much." He whispered in her ear as he closed his eyes.

"I love you." She whispered back faintly.

Tony could feel her breathing even out and knew that she was already asleep. He was grateful that she was able to fall asleep so quickly knowing that the next contraction was going to be less than 15 minutes away. It seemed like only a few minutes when he woke up as he felt Pepper moving away from him. He was on his feet in less than a second, rounding the bed and taking Pepper's hands in his as he helped her to her feet.

"Ball." She said between clenched teeth.

He gently held her around the waist as she walked over to the ball. Then he helped her to kneel over the ball. He quickly brought her a pillow to lay her head on as she started rocking her hips. His hand quickly went to the small of her back as he started massaging her, his other hand finding her hip as he slowly stroked her trying to give her some comfort. He looked at the clock on the wall: 5:28 AM. He remembered what Karen had told them about the babies being born by noon. He hoped for Pepper's sake that the twins were early. So far Pepper was holding up, but Tony was still worried about her. He knew that natural childbirth was her decision, but he would give anything if he could somehow help share some of the pain. Pepper groaned as the contraction subsided. Tony leaned over her and nuzzled her neck as he pulled her gently up to her feet.

He wordlessly led her back to the bed. He noticed that her forehead was now damp with sweat from her battle with the pain of the contraction. "Let me get a cold, wet washcloth and wash your face." He said as he laid her down on the bed. She curled up on her side as he sank to his knees on the floor beside her, his face next to hers.

"Just remember, Pep" he whispered to her as he wiped her face gently with the washcloth. "I'm on diaper duty for a month after the twins are born."

Her eyes shot open and she looked at him sternly, raising one eyebrow. "Just one month?" She teased.

He immediately stopped washing her face as he smiled at her. "OK" he replied leaning over to kiss her on the nose "Two then."

The door suddenly opened and the room lighting increased dramatically as Dr. Summers stepped inside the room. "That contraction was a pretty strong one." She said as she approached the bed. Her dark brown eyes were concerned "How are you holding up, Pepper?"

"OK" Pepper replied managing a small smile as she tilted her head on her pillow to look at Karen.

"Telemetry showed both the babies' heart rate increased during that last contraction, which means they are starting to feel the squeeze." She explained as she put a hand on Pepper's shoulder. "That's normal. Did you notice movement from the twins during this contraction?"

Tony had stopped washing Pepper's face when Karen had walked in the room. He now took one of Pepper's hands in his and started stroking her palm with his thumb.

"Yes' she replied "I could feel them move. It felt like they were sliding."

Karen's face lit up. "Good!" she said as she reached out to pat her on the shoulder "Turn onto your back and let me check dilation again."

Tony let go of her hand and stood up as he helped her roll over to her back. He then backed away from the bed giving Dr. Summers some working room as she pulled on a pair of examination gloves.

"You are doing great Pepper!" Dr. Summers said as she pulled off the gloves and put them in the Haz-Mat container. "Seven point five already. Looks like those Stark babies are ramping up for an early arrival."

"Early arrival?" Tony asked as he moved back to Pepper and helped roll her back onto her side.

Karen smiled and patted Pepper gently on the shoulder again. "You might want to call the Potts clan now or I will never hear the end of it from your grandma." She teased "The rapid dilation combined with the feeling of the babies sliding means you are headed into the second phase of labor which is usually only one to three hours long. And with the rapid changes I'm seeing here, I would wager you will be closer to the one hour side. Apparently Potts women don't mess around when it comes to birthing babies."

Tony immediately pulled out his cell phone and called Jarvis. "J" he said into the phone "Have you started making calls yet?

"Yes sir" Jarvis started as Tony put him on speaker so Pepper could hear too "I have made the Washington, DC and New York calls already."

"OK, good." Tony replied "Go ahead and call Pepper's family right now and let them know that they need to get here within the hour. Is Rhody on his way?" Tony knew that Rhody had been eagerly awaiting the twins' birth for the past two weeks and had rearranged his schedule so he would be in the States.

"Affirmative" Jarvis agreed. "Col. Rhodes is on his way with an ETA of one hour and five minutes. It seems he was able to board a military jet whose pilot will drop him off in Flagstaff while in route to Tucson for training. I have arranged for SI security to pick him up at the Flagstaff Airport and bring him to Dr. Summer's clinic as soon as he lands."

"Good work Jarvis. Pepper is doing great and Dr. Summers says the Stark babies could be born a little early. I'll keep you informed." Tony smiled at Pepper who wearily smiled back at him.

"That is good news sir." Jarvis replied as Tony broke the connection.

"Can I borrow Jarvis to help run my clinic for me?" Karen teased moving for the door "He would make my scheduling so much easier."

"You'll need to talk to Jarvis about that." Pepper replied smiling at Karen before Dr. Summers once again walked out the door diming the lights as she left.


	6. Chapter 6

**Most of the characters in this story belong to Marvel Comics and whoever else has current legal ownership of Iron Man and not to me, even in my wildest dreams. No infringement on anyone's rights is intended in any way. This story is not being written for profit.**

**This story was written for all of you who wanted a sequel to my story "The Sense of Touch". I sincerely appreciated your kind words and encouragement and I hope that you enjoy this story. :) **

Tony had barely helped Pepper turn onto her side when she suddenly let out a long breath as the next contraction started. Tony immediately checked his watch out of habit and helped her sit up and then stand as they slowly made their way over to the ball. Tony placed a pillow on the ball as he helped lower Pepper to her knees alongside the ball. Once she was safely on the ball, he quickly moved behind her and started his massage of her back. As he continued massaging her back, Tony looked at his watch and noticed that this contraction was already 3 ½ minutes long and showed no sign of letting up. The only sound in the room was the sound of Pepper's measured breathing.

"I love you, Baby Mama." He said as he continued his massage, leaning over the plant light kisses between her shoulder blades. "You are going to be the best Mom in the world, you know that. And definitely the most gorgeous Mom on the planet." Tony rambled on still kissing her. He heard her breathe out a long breath which signaled the end of her contraction as he felt her muscles under his hands relax slowly. As he helped her up he gently caressed her baby bump and was surprised to find that it dropped even lower during the contraction. She walked stiffly over to the bed as he held on to her. She lay down slowly and he gently helped turn her to her side.

"Hold me, Tony." She whispered as she closed her eyes, her face revealing just how tired she was becoming.

He moved around the bed quickly and got in behind her spooning up gently behind her as he nuzzled her neck. His left arm tenderly caressed her baby bump. "The babies are moving lower and lower, Pepper." He said quietly in between kisses to her neck. "It won't be long now, sweetheart." He could feel her drift off to sleep as her breathing evened out. He continued caressing her enlarged belly with his left hand as he tenderly brushed her sweat soaked bangs back from her forehead with his right hand. Tony refused to close his eyes, not wanting to chance falling asleep on Pepper. He glanced up at the clock on the wall: 6:03 AM. He thought about the names they had selected for the twins: Anna Maria and James Edward and the people they were being named after.

He thought about the twins' godparents too: Rhody, Happy, Bruce, Betty, Natasha, Clint, Thor, Jane, Steve, and of course Karen. He also thought back to the discussion that Fury and he had months ago when Pepper's pregnancy was first made public. Fury had held Tony back after an Avengers staff meeting.

"I understand that Mrs. Stark is pregnant." Fury stated in his usual stiff manner "And that you are expecting twins, Stark?"

"Yes we are." Tony had replied as Fury walked to a storage locker in the corner of the room. He pulled out a large box from within the locker and walked back to stand in front of Tony.

"I gave your father one of these before your birth." Fury explained to him as he handed Tony the box.

Tony took the box noting that for its bulk, the box was relatively light in weight. He sat the box down on the table and opened it. He pulled out two delicately woven baby blankets. Upon seeing the pattern of the weaves, Tony's memory was suddenly awakened and Tony realized he was looking at two exact replicas of the hand made baby blanket he had as a child. He knew that these were handmade Tibetan cashmere baby blankets which were cherished in Tibet as bringers of good luck and fortune for the child who slept under them. His mother had told him that his blanket had been specially handcrafted for him and given to him by one of his godfathers.

Tony quickly expanded his search of his childhood memories and he suddenly remembered an 'Uncle Nick' that his father had mentioned on occasion. His mom had showed him photos once of his father holding an infant Tony in his arms and standing with a tall black man with an afro, sans eye patch. The pieces quickly fell together in Tony's mind and his facial expression no doubt betrayed his underlying emotions to Fury.

"Don't be so surprised, Stark." Fury explained "I promised Howard that I would look out for you. That was my duty as your godfather. But **you **haven't made it exactly easy for me to do." Fury's eyes suddenly lit up with humor. "I can't tell you how happy I was when a certain Pepper Potts became your PA." he paused smiling smugly at Tony. "I suddenly had my weekends back."

Tony had to remind himself to physically close his gaping mouth as he listened to Fury's story. Then surprising even himself, Tony held out his right hand to Fury. Fury extended his right hand in return and they shook hands as if they were life long friends. Perhaps they had been and Tony had only just then realized it.

"Thank you for the baby blankets." Tony quietly told Fury as they shook hands. "If you are interested, the Stark babies will be in need of great-godfather or two. And seeing how they will be Pepper's kids, you know they are going to turn out much easier to keep an eye on than I was."

"I'll consider it Stark; after all I **am **down to only one eye now." Fury replied sternly as Tony carefully put the blankets back into the box while suppressing a smile at Fury's 'eye' comment, as he picked up the box placing it under one arm. "Be sure to give Mrs. Stark my regards."

Tony had made sure that Fury was on Jarvis' call list and he was no doubt notified this morning along with the other Avengers. Fury had never let him know if he would be his children's great godfather or not. It seemed that he would find out soon enough.

Pepper jerked awake suddenly breaking Tony out of his memory as he quickly got up and walked around the bed. He took Pepper's hands in his and smiled reassuringly at her as he gently pulled her up from the bed and supported her as she walked slowly to the ball. Tony helped her to kneel down, placing the pillow on top of the ball for her. He dutifully started massaging her back again as he leaned over tenderly kissing each shoulder blade. He lost track of time as he continued to massage and caress her. As he kissed his way down her spine, lightly scratching her skin with his morning's growth of beard, he felt her muscles start to relax as the contraction subsided.

"You know that tickles." She whispered to him as he helped her to her feet and walked her to the bed.

"A good tickle or a bad tickle?" he questioned not really understanding what she was referring to.

"Good. Your beard is tickling me when you kiss my back." She replied with the beginnings of a smile as he helped her roll onto her side in the bed.

He smiled in understanding as he leaned down and kissed her soundly on the lips. "You want me in bed with you?"

"Always, Iron Dad." She replied locking eyes with him.

He quickly moved around behind her, snuggling his body against hers, gently stroking her belly. "You know we haven't used anything from our birthing bags yet. Do you want me to get out the oils or your MP3 player?"

She let out a long sigh. "No" she said wearily "All I need is you….only you."

Tony smiled into her hair as he felt her drift away to sleep. "You're all I need too, Pepper." He whispered back to her. "Only you." He had known that for 12 years.


	7. Chapter 7

**Most of the characters in this story belong to Marvel Comics and whoever else has current legal ownership of Iron Man and not to me, even in my wildest dreams. No infringement on anyone's rights is intended in any way. This story is not being written for profit.**

**This story was written for all of you who wanted a sequel to my story "The Sense of Touch". I sincerely appreciated your kind words and encouragement and I hope that you enjoy this story. :) **

Tony continued to lay awake as he lovingly stroked Pepper's tummy. He could feel the babies' hands and knees pushing into his hand, but Pepper never even moved. He could tell that she was now exhausted. He was sorry that they had been making love last night instead of getting Pepper to sleep earlier. He felt so useless in helping her right now and that frustrated him. He thought back to his beard tickling her during the last contraction and how she had enjoyed the sensation and thought he should try that again during the next contraction.

Within 10 minutes, Pepper's breathing started becoming erratic as another contraction started. Tony rolled out of the bed quickly and made his way over the where Pepper was struggling to sit up immediately pulling her up gently. He tucked her into his side and helped her walk to the ball. He slowly lowered her to her knees and helped position her on the ball, tucking the pillow under her head. He started his deep massage of her back again, as he draped his body over hers, his lips ghosting over her shoulders and back. He raised his head briefly to check the time: 6:33 AM. He leaned back down to plant more kisses on her back.

"Don't stop Tony" she pleaded in a low voice "That feels so good. I just want to focus on your lips and hands."

Tony moved his left hand around to her side and gently stroked her ribcage up to her breast and back down again. He continued stroking her tenderly as he pushed his fingers into the muscles in her back. He suddenly realized that five minutes had gone by as he looked up at the clock again, and this contraction still showed no sign of letting up. He felt her start to tremble under his touch. Tony continued his deep massage with his right hand. He softly pressed his hips into hers and felt her push back against him. His left hand moved under her and he lightly stroked her belly, stopping his hand from moving instinctively lower on her body. He suddenly felt her relax in his arms as the contraction finally started to ease.

"Wow." Pepper teased quietly "You need to do that again next contraction." She slowly rose to her feet as Tony wrapped his arms around her helping her up and then walked her over to the bed.

"Why Mrs. Stark." Tony teased back helping her roll over to lie on her side in the bed "I think you're coming on to me." He leaned his head down to hers and she reached out and pulled his head to hers, kissing him passionately. She let him go after a few seconds as the lights suddenly grew brighter and they heard the door open.

"I think, Mr. Stark" she replied patting her baby bump affectionately "That you are the one that has been coming on to me and here's the proof."

"You see what I've had to deal with here?" Karen fussed as she turned to Pepper's grandmother; Charlotte dressed neatly in green scrubs like Karen. "I can't leave them alone any time at all without them going all lovey dovey on me."

"They **are** technically still on their honeymoon." Charlotte said in defense of Tony and Pepper as Tony stood up next to the bed facing the two women, smiling at Charlotte.

"Some honeymoon, I'll say that." As Karen continued her tirade "I couldn't tell from the telemetry if that was a contraction or an **orgasm **that Pepper just had."

Tony felt his face heat up in embarrassment as he looked down at Pepper who smiled knowingly at him.

Charlotte walked over to Tony and put her hand on his shoulder and patted it gently. "It's OK, grandson." She said soothingly "I've seen many a husband content with just holding his wife's hand while she was in labor and plenty of them that wouldn't even do that."

Tony was relieved that Charlotte was here. Charlotte was the first one in Pepper's family who had accepted him into the family with open arms. She was kind and caring person with a great sense of humor. Just being around her made Tony feel wanted and loved….much like Pepper did.

Pepper reached out to take Tony's hand in hers. "He's been taking good care of me, Oma." Pepper said squeezing his hand.

"I know he has, baby." Charlotte replied moving to stand next to Pepper's bed and reaching out and brushing her sweaty bangs back from her face.

"Oh yeah, judging by that look of orgasmic contentment on your face Pepper, he's been taking **real** good care of you." Karen interrupted moving to put examination gloves on. "Let's get another measurement while we have a break in the action here."

Pepper let go of Tony's hand as he tenderly helped her turn over on to her back. He then stepped away from the bed allowing the two women full access to Pepper.

Karen started Pepper's pelvic exam as Charlotte watched over her shoulder intently. Upon completion of the exam, Karen poked and prodded her baby bump for a few minutes.

"Looks like Jarvis called us just in time." Charlotte said as she patted Pepper's baby bump affectionately. "Ten centimeters, Pepper."

Tony had already walked around the other side of the bed, so he could see Pepper better. "Is everything all right?" Tony asked as Charlotte smiled broadly at him.

"Better than all right, grandson." Charlotte replied smiling broadly at Tony "You and Pepper are about to become parents!"

Tony suddenly felt his knees go weak on him. He was excited and scared at the same time. "What can I do to help?"

"Just keep Pepper comfortable." Charlotte replied reaching across the bed to take his right hand and squeeze it gently. "You're going to sit behind Pepper on the bed with her facing away from you. She needs to be supported from behind with her thighs on top of yours. That way you can continue her back massage and help her by letting gravity do some of the work for her."

Karen pulled off her examination gloves and threw them in the Haz-Mat container. "But not **too** comfortable." She pushed the call button. "Get yourselves and the French fry warmers in here stat." Karen ordered "It's show time ladies and gentleman now that our audience is here. Charlotte says that our birthing center waiting room is starting to fill up fast now."

"Our family is here, including the boys" Charlotte explained "Happy is there too and I swear I saw him chewing his nails. Oh and that nice Jim Rhodes is here too."

Tony knew that Pepper's family loved Rhody and Happy. They were considered as part of the Potts clan now. He was envious though. They had no doubt gone down to the Kolache Shop and gotten kolaches and donuts for breakfast. Even with all the excitement Tony was hungry.

"Jimmy's already here?" Karen blurted out. "I haven't seen him since Big Eddie's birthday party."

Pepper smiled "That's because Rhody has been out of the country for last 9 months, Kar." She looked over at Tony. "But I think I can arrange another meeting between you and Uncle Rhody if you can behave yourself."

Tony knew that Pepper was trying to be a match maker between Karen and Rhodes and he was always amused to see this side of Pepper.

Karen smiled back at Pepper. "I **can **behave you know."

Karen and Rhodes had struck up a friendship when they met at Pepper's grandfather's birthday party 9 months ago and they realized that Karen had been one of Rhody's mother's medical students at UCLA, and that his mom had been Karen's mentor and the one who had encouraged Karen to be an OB Gyn like herself. In the passing months Rhody had admitted to Tony that his mom was delighted when he told her about meeting Karen, even going as far as saying that his mom had thought about arranging a blind date between the two of them years ago. Tony had teased him during Pepper's grandfather's party by saying "It's a small world after all, Platypus." when Tony had found out about Karen's and Rhody's 'connection'. Rhody had of course rolled his eyes at him at the comment.

Tony would rather leave the matchmaking to Pepper, but he knew Rhody well enough to know that Dr. Summers was definitely Rhody's 'type' of woman. Karen was beautiful, smart, funny, and very outspoken. And Karen definitely enjoyed picking on Tony, which humored Rhody almost as much as picking on Tony himself. And Karen was very protective of Pepper, just like Rhody was. She made no bones about telling Tony privately the first time they met that he had better 'walk the straight and narrow' with Pepper or she would be using her surgical scalpels and no anesthesia to remove, on a permanent basis, his ability to enjoy sex. And although Tony knew for certain that Pepper would be the last woman he would ever bed, he did not take Karen's threat lightly.

The door opened and Karen's nurses entered pushing two carts that Tony immediately recognized. They were SI inventions of his for new born care that he had given to Karen several months back to use in her practice. He had wanted her to trial them prior to mass production. So far they were passing Dr. Summers' tests with flying colors with another four months of trial ahead of them.

"Tony's not going to say anything, but I will." Pepper said also noticing the two carts "Why are you calling the SI Newborn Analysis and Care Units 'French fry warmers?" Tony smiled at Pepper. Pepper was very protective of Tony and his inventions, and with her as CEO she had a vested business interest in the success of these units also. The name calling had suddenly become quite personal.

"Because they keep my newborns warm and ready for wrapping up and giving to my customers, I mean my patients." Karen deadpanned. "OK Pepper" Karen said sternly kicking back into 'doctor' mode "Next contraction you are going to give a little push while I feed the shop vac hose inside you and try to suck those little Stark babies out of there."

Pepper quickly rose up on the bed and turned to give Karen a look that would have peeled paint from any surface. "I am so going to beat you after all this is over." Pepper threatened.

"What's the matter?" Karen replied laughing "Can't take a little medical humor? Don't worry, once those babies are out and you and Iron Dude are cuddling your little bundles of joy, you will forget all about me being a pain in the ass."

"Not likely." Pepper warned as Charlotte helped pull her up into a sitting position on the bed.

Charlotte motioned for Tony to get in the bed with Pepper. He quickly hopped on from head of the bed being careful not to jostle the bed too much. He eased Pepper up into his lap as he spread his legs apart, causing her to do the same.

Tony leaned over and kissed her neck. She leaned her head into his as she closed her eyes. In the next second, she suddenly exhaled forcibly as the next contraction started in earnest. Pepper leaned forward slightly and Tony started massaging her back with his right hand while firmly holding onto her left hip with his left hand.

"Pepper, **push**." Karen instructed calmly "Take a deep breath and exhale while you push OK?"

Pepper's breathing became rhythmic as the contraction continued. Karen adjusted her position next to Pepper as she continued to rearrange her baby bump. Charlotte was talking softly to Pepper with her hand stroking Pepper's arm tenderly. The contraction seemed to go on forever, until Pepper took in a deep breath in relief at its end.

"Pepper" Karen said quietly but firmly "Your daughter is only one push away from freedom. The next contraction will start really quickly so get ready."

As if on cue Pepper's face contorted as another powerful contraction started.

"Pepper, sweetheart." Charlotte said softly as she gripped Pepper's arm to help steady her "Now's the time. Go for it and push **hard**."

Tony felt Pepper rise up on him as she strained to push. She felt like she was going to tip forward so he immediately stopped massaging her back and put his right hand on her right hip to steady her. Both her hands suddenly clenched his thighs in an iron grip. Tony knew she was strong, but he had no idea she was that strong. He flexed his quads in an instinctively protective mode as she continued to bear down. He did his best just to ignore the pain.

Tony looked over Pepper's shoulder and watched Karen and Charlotte intently. They were both staring at the spot just below Pepper. Suddenly, Karen reached towards Pepper and in less than a second she was handing Pepper their daughter.

Tony's breath caught in his throat as he looked at the small wet child that Pepper held lovingly in her arms. He could hear Pepper's soft voice murmuring to their baby girl as Pepper actually counted Anna Maria's fingers and toes as she held her. Suddenly the baby looked up at him and he saw that his daughter had Pepper's ocean blue eyes. He reached out and touched his baby's head lovingly also noticing how she also had Pepper's nose, his mouth, and his dark wavy hair. She. Was. Gorgeous.

"Oh wow!" He whispered into Pepper's ear "She's so beautiful! Just like her mama!" He kissed Pepper's neck lovingly as he continued to stroke his daughter's head. "Welcome to our family, Anna Maria Stark." He said quietly, his voice taking on a register much lover than usual, as the baby continued to look at him. Tony knew at that instant that Anna Maria had recognized his voice. He suddenly had tears in his eyes.

Karen was beaming at them. "She is cute." She remarked gently patting the top of the baby's head "It's a good thing she takes after her mama." She looked up at Tony and flashed him a rare, sympathetic look as he did his best not to let his tears fall. "It's OK to cry Iron Man. I would be mad at you if you didn't. And no one in here is going to tell a soul."

Pepper leaned back as if to comfort him and he sniffled once burying his face into the back of her head in an effort to hide his tears. "It's OK Tony. Me and Anna Maria here love you."

Charlotte moved closer and tenderly touched the baby's cheek. Anna Maria immediately turned towards Charlotte opening her mouth. "Will you look at that: she's already rooting for a nipple." Charlotte commented surprised. "Pepper, remember you need to stay well hydrated because you will be feeding two babies and not just one. Your milk will let down in a couple of days, but your colostrum will be what tides the babies over until then. After brother gets here, you can nurse both of them. Nursing helps detach the placenta faster."

"OK, Oma." Pepper replied with a small smile as she continued to caress Anna Maria.

"One down and one to go." Karen exclaimed as Pepper suddenly winced in pain from the start of another contraction. "Pepper you are going to be experiencing almost continuous contractions from here on. Just stay focused and ride out the contractions. Don't push until I tell you to do so. Same drill as before. Tony Jr. should grace us with his presence within 20 minutes or so, most probably sooner if Anna Maria's quick entrance is any indication. If you want Charlotte to hold the baby that's fine. But that umbilical cord is short so Anna Maria needs to stay close by until baby brother joins her."

Tony reached down and cradled the baby girl against Pepper's chest using his right hand and forearm and leaving Pepper's hands free, as he began massaging her back again with his left hand. "It's OK; I've got her, Pepper." He looked down at the small child and smiled knowing without a doubt that he had to be one of the luckiest men on earth at the moment.


	8. Chapter 8

**Most of the characters in this story belong to Marvel Comics and whoever else has current legal ownership of Iron Man and not to me, even in my wildest dreams. No infringement on anyone's rights is intended in any way. This story is not being written for profit.**

**This story was written for all of you who wanted a sequel to my story "The Sense of Touch". I sincerely appreciated your kind words and encouragement and I hope that you enjoy this story. :) **

Pepper's hands moved to grip his thighs again. He knew that he was going to have some bruises tomorrow, but right now he just ignored the pain and focused on his daughter. Anna Maria felt so light in his hand. He thought that she couldn't weigh more than 6 pounds. But she had long arms and legs, just like her mother. Yes indeed, she was going to be a heart breaker when she got older. He knew that he was going to have to be a real ball-breaker in order to keep the boys away from her. He was definitely going to use his previous promiscuous lifestyle as a 'how **not **to act' example for his children. He could already imagine himself answering the front door dressed in his Iron Man suit when Anna Maria's dates showed up to pick her up. Oh yeah, Iron Man would be the ultimate cock blocker!

As he continued to watch Anna Maria, he noticed that Karen had started massaging Pepper's remaining baby bump intently.

"Come on you little darling, turn for Aunti Karen." Karen implored as she moved her hands around. "Stubborn just like your mama aren't you little one." She prodded a few more seconds until she was satisfied. "There now, that's better."

Ten more minutes passed with Pepper holding on to Tony's thighs for dear life as contraction after contraction racked her body. Suddenly it seemed that the contractions had stopped, but the break would soon be short lived.

Charlotte smiled broadly at Karen who returned the smile. "OK granddaughter" Charlotte started "it's time to give me another great grand son."

"Pepper." Karen said quietly and calmly "It's time to push **now**."

Tony felt Pepper lean forward as the next contraction started and her fingers once again dug into his thighs as he held on to his daughter trying his best not to let his pain transfer into her body through his arm. Anna Maria just continued to alternate sucking on her fists and looking at the world around her. She seemed content just to be lying next to Pepper's chest, securely nestled within Tony's arm despite all the activity and noise around her. Calm and collected amid the chaos: she was **definitely** Pepper's child.

Karen and Charlotte again focused their attention on the spot below Pepper. They had already replaced the sanitary gauze pad that Anna Maria had landed on with a new pad. As Pepper continued to strain, pushing with all her might with the contraction, Karen reached down suddenly, her hands catching James Edward Stark as he made his appearance into the world. Karen triumphantly held him for a second before handing him gently to Pepper who immediately starting talking to their baby boy in a low, loving voice, while counting his fingers and toes just like she did with Anna Maria.

Tony immediately stopped massaging Pepper's back and brought his left arm around to cradle James Edward's wet head full of curly dark hair as their baby boy lay within Pepper's arms.

"How about that, Starks" Karen said breathing an audible sigh of relief "in the space of only 16 minutes you are now officially a family. Congratulations!"

Tony looked down on his son and found a pair of ocean blue eyes staring right back at him. He also had Pepper's nose and his mouth. He was quite the handsome boy all right and would no doubt break his fair share of hearts when he got older. But Tony was determined that his sons would never spend their 16th birthday at a brothel, like Obie had done with him. No, that Tony was gone forever. Tony smiled as he gently stroked his son's dark and wavy head of hair. Suddenly James Edward yawned and moved his hands up to rub at his eyes.

"Apparently we must have interrupted a nap." Karen laughed stroking the top of James Edward's head with her thumb. "That's why he wouldn't turn for me. He must have been asleep."

Charlotte stroked James Edward's cheek and he immediately turned his mouth upward. "Like two little baby birds. Pepper, you need to nurse right now, sweetheart so your placenta will detach quickly."

Tony was still pressed up to Pepper's back as he supported her and the babies. "Do I need to move?" he asked as he continued to stroke his babies' heads.

"No, just stay where you are." Karen said quickly "Pepper needs to deliver the afterbirth, and then we can cut the cords and get your babies cleaned up." Karen then walked purposefully around the bed and stood now face to face with Tony, a stern look on her face. "Here are the ground rules for you, Iron Man. Pepper's breasts are, as of this moment and for the next 9 months or so, no longer recreational….they are functional. Which means that you will, as of this moment and for the next 9 months or so, adopt a hands-off, as well as mouth-off policy towards Pepper's breasts. Her breasts are going to get quite a work out trying to feed your babies. She will need help keeping her breasts from getting sore and you can help put ointment on them **if** she lets you, but other than that: **no touching**!" Karen smiled tightly at him. "Understand?"

"Understood." Tony replied as he felt Pepper chuckle.

"Let me show you some different ways of holding the twins so they can nurse." Charlotte softly said to Pepper as Tony watched fascinated over her shoulder. "When they are small like this you can have them head to head, supporting their bodies on your forearms." She said as she repositioned the twins in Pepper's arms. "When they get bigger, you can use two pillows or a nursing pad at chest level and place each baby with their body along your rib cage."

The babies began nursing immediately. Tony watched transfixed as their mouths' hungrily suckled at Pepper's breasts. After a minute Tony gently reached around her and helped to support her arms while she held the nursing babies. He knew that Pepper was exhausted and he felt her lean back into his chest in relief as her shoulders relaxed.

"Thanks" Pepper whispered to him as he leaned over to kiss the side of her head.

Charlotte and Karen had turned around to speak with the nurses and Tony had figured they were trying to give his family a little private time.

"You did fantastic, Pepper." He whispered back "I love you so very much. Thank you for putting up with me for all those years and giving me a family. I promise to be the best husband and father that I can be and protect and love all of you forever."

"Oh, Tony." Pepper replied tears filling her eyes as she leaned her head gently into his, closing her eyes tightly as he hugged her and the babies closer to him. "You **will **be the best dad on the planet. You are already the best husband."

Tony closed his eyes as a few tears escaped and fell onto Pepper's shoulder. He continued to hug his family close as the babies continued to nurse noisily.

Charlotte and Karen turned around and walked back to Pepper's bed, Karen pushing an instrument tray ahead of her. Tony blinked rapidly trying to rid his eyes of his tears. Karen of course noticed, but she surprised Tony when she gave him a rare, genuine smile.

"We are going to clamp off the umbilical cords now and cut them while we wait for the placenta to be delivered." Karen said as she picked up two clamps.

"We are going to wait for the babies to finish nursing before we cut the cord. Not that this will hurt them or Pepper." Charlotte continued. "But once we get the cords cut, Betty and Trudy will burp them, measure and weigh them, get them cleaned up a little bit, and check their vitals."

As if on cue, Anna Maria audibly popped the nipple out of her mouth. Charlotte and Karen reached out and quickly clamped and cut her umbilical cord. About 10 seconds later James Edward let go of his nipple with a big yawn. Tony smiled at his son as the baby rubbed his eyes and let out a contented sigh. Charlotte and Karen reached in immediately and clamped and cut his umbilical cord.

Betty and Trudy moved in quickly, picking up the babies and carrying them over to a large table in the corner of the room. Tony never took his eyes off of his children, staring intently at what was happening to them.

Karen had started to massage Pepper's belly gently as Pepper laid her head back onto Tony's shoulder. Tony gently massaged Pepper's hips as he watched his children being cared for. Pepper suddenly trembled in his arms as her placenta dropped onto another sterile pad. Karen quickly picked it up and carried over to small table with a large examination light attached to it.

"Karen's going to inspect the placenta and make sure that it's intact and in good shape." Charlotte reassured Pepper. "And Tony's going to get off the bed now, so he can go stand guard over his children like he's wanted to do ever since Betty and Trudy took them." She teased patting Pepper on the arm tenderly. "He's already the protective Daddy."

"I'm going to help you get settled first, Pepper" he said as he gently got up, his hands never leaving Pepper's body. "Can I just help her lay back on the bed on her back, or does she need to be in a different position?" he quickly asked Charlotte.

"No, back is fine, grandson." Charlotte replied also helping Pepper to slide down further into bed. Pepper lay her head down on the pillow that Charlotte put down for her with a huge sigh of relief. "You done good, granddaughter. You too, grandson!"

Pepper smiled broadly for Charlotte as Tony covered her up with a light blanket, kissing her on the forehead tenderly. "Pepper did **great**!" he replied smiling at Pepper.

Pepper smiled back at him. "**We** did great. All of us." She replied closing her eyes briefly. "I am so tired. I don't think I can keep my eyes open much longer."

Karen walked up to stand at her bedside next to Charlotte. "Then close your eyes and take a nap. Your placenta was perfect. Your babies are perfect. Your husband is not so perfect, but oh well; you can't have everything can you?" Karen teased. "Seriously you need to sleep. Tony will keep an Iron Man eye on your babies. We are going to swaddle them and put them in a crib next to your bed so you all can be close. I even think I can smuggle in some apple and sausage kolaches in here for both of you. Perhaps some green tea for you and some strong coffee for Daddy." And with that said Charlotte and Karen moved aside as the crib with the twins was wheeled up next to Pepper's bed. Within ten seconds only the new Stark family remained in the room. The twins were already asleep. Pepper fought to stay awake as she propped herself up on one elbow as she gazed lovingly at their babies.

Tony now stood on the other side of the crib looking at the two tiny creatures that he now called his. He was so proud he felt like shouting out at the top of his lungs. Instead he took out his camera and took a picture of their babies. He emailed the picture to Jarvis as he called him. "Jarvis take a look at that picture and tell me what you see." He spoke into his cell phone.

"I see two very tiny humans that appear to have your hair, your mouth, Mrs. Stark's nose, and hopefully Mrs. Stark's temperament." Jarvis replied.

"They also have Mrs. Stark's gorgeous blue eyes, Jarvis." Tony replied proudly "They **are** totally perfect."

"I am so very glad to hear that, sir." Jarvis replied "I trust Mrs. Stark is well."

"She's better than well…she's totally perfect too." Tony replied smiling at Pepper who rolled her eyes tiredly at him. "That pic is for you and the bots only…don't send it out to anyone. Debbie's going to take some good pictures and email them to you later."

"Understood, sir." Jarvis replied "And congratulations to you both. We will be awaiting your arrival back home."

Tony put his cell phone back in his pocket as he leaned down to kiss Pepper on the lips tenderly.


	9. Chapter 9

**Most of the characters in this story belong to Marvel Comics and whoever else has current legal ownership of Iron Man and not to me, even in my wildest dreams. No infringement on anyone's rights is intended in any way. This story is not being written for profit.**

**This story was written for all of you who wanted a sequel to my story "The Sense of Touch". I sincerely appreciated your kind words and encouragement and I hope that you enjoy this story. :) **

Karen walked in the door with a tray of food and cups on it. "As promised: Food and drink." She said setting them down on the rolling tray next to Pepper's bed.

"Doctor's orders Pepper: eat then sleep. Debbie is going to come in to take a few pictures of just the babies in order to calm down the hordes of fans outside in the waiting room until you can grace them with your presence."

"What hordes of fans?" Pepper sleepily asked as Tony raised the head of her bed up so she could sit up to eat and drink. Tony then handed her the tea and she drank deeply.

"Some folks I've never seen before are getting fairly rowdy out there with your family. A friendly rowdy though. Happy has vetted all of them, so I guess they are OK security wise."

"Is there a big blonde guy with them who talks like he should be a Shakespearean actor?" Tony asked amused sitting down next to Pepper on the bed as he pulled up the food tray in front of them.

"As a matter of fact there is." Karen replied "He even kissed me on the back of my hand when Charlotte introduced me as Pepper's doctor. He called me a 'noble physician' and I still don't know exactly what he meant by the 'noble' part of that. I have been called many things before, but never noble."

"I can vouch for that." Pepper added, the corners of her eyes holding a smile that the rest of her face was too tired for.

Tony smiled at Pepper as he handed her the apple kolache. She eagerly started eating it, sipping her tea between bites. Tony had already eaten two sausage kolaches and was working on his third one between gulps of coffee. They were both very quiet suddenly and very intent on eating their food. Tony was tired, his adrenaline high waning and he was positive that Pepper had to be absolutely exhausted. Pepper laid her head on his shoulder as she continued to eat.

Karen smiled at both of them. "I wish I had a camera right now."

Debbie walked in the door carrying her camera, dressed in green scrubs. "Did someone say camera?" she said smiling at Pepper and Tony.

"Yeah" Karen said with a laugh "Get a picture of those two stuffing their faces acting like nothing at all is going on around them. They are **too** cute."

Debbie immediately pulled her camera up to her face and snapped a couple of pictures of them sitting together calmly on the bed eating, both of them on the verge of falling asleep. She then focused all of her attention on the babies.

"They are so adorable!" Debbie exclaimed as she started taking pictures of the babies from all angles. Debbie was an amateur photographer, but a good one winning lots of awards.

"Maybe we should just go out there for a few minutes with the babies, and then we can come back here and rest." Pepper suggested looking over at Tony "That way we can clear out the waiting room. I am sure that my parents can put all of them up at the ranch until you give us the boot out of your clinic."

Karen looked at Pepper sternly. "Nobody except you and Daddy are to touch those babies." Karen warned "I mean it when I say that I keep my newborns germ free."

"What if I hold the babies, letting every one get a good look but avoiding contact with anyone, while Pepper sits in a wheelchair and gets the hugs, but **no** kisses?" Tony suggested. "Pepper can shower afterwards and then get a long sleep in."

"No wheelchair, Tony." Pepper corrected "I feel up to a short visit with everyone."

"Only if I am at your side, just in case you get too tired to stand." Karen added. "And the visit is kept **short**."

"Pepper?" Tony asked wanting Pepper's final approval as he finished up his coffee.

"OK." Pepper replied as she finished up her tea. "But I get to take a quick shower and change before going out there."

"I'll keep an eye on the kids for you while you're taking a shower." Karen replied "But no hanky panky in the shower, Iron Man. You are only there to make sure Pepper doesn't fall."

"Yes, Aunti Karen." Tony replied with a smile. He looked over at their babies who were still sound asleep as Debbie continued to take pictures of them.

Tony got up off the bed pulling Pepper gently up with him. He pulled her into his side, quickly grabbing her birthing bag as they walked towards the private restroom. Inside was a small shower. Tony got out her shower gel and helped her into the shower stall. Pepper didn't want to wash her hair until after they had their waiting room visit so she would be clean for nursing the babies. With Tony standing guard just outside the shower stall, she quickly took a shower. Tony then helped her change into a long, high-waisted casual linen dress with a pair of comfortable sandals. Tony took his time admiring her graceful curves as the dress hugged her features perfectly. He suddenly felt a strong urge to get her pregnant again as his gaze swept from her breasts to her full hips.

"Hey, I can see my feet again!" Pepper triumphantly said, a smile now lighting up her weary face.

Tony smiled back at her and then walked around behind her and brushed her hair back into a sleek pony tail for her as he fastened it with a tie. "Two weeks, huh, Mrs. Stark before we can...you know…again." he said as he trailed kisses along her neck, scratching her gently with his beard. "I think that this is going to be the longest two weeks of my life."

"I have a feeling that you will be far too busy changing dirty diapers to be even remotely interested in that, Tony." She teased, turning to him and kissing him soundly on the lips. "After all, you will be on diaper duty for two months."

"I was kinda hoping that you would forget about that." Tony pouted.

"Not a chance, Iron Man." She replied with a chuckle as they walked out of the restroom to see both Karen and Charlotte looking at their babies.

"Less than 5 minutes….I'm impressed." Karen said sarcastically. "The natives are getting restless out there. Let's get you all out there so I can get rid of all those people and get my clinic back to normal. A bunch of guys in black suits have just shown up along with a very big, very scary looking bald man with an eye patch."

Tony smiled. Fury had made it.

"I'm going to go out first and get every body settled down." Charlotte said walking briskly towards the door. "I don't care how big or how scary. I bet I can get everybody in line PDQ!"

"Oma is scary when she gets in her over protective mode." Pepper commented as Karen laughed loudly.

"How do I do this?" Tony asked as he walked over to the babies' crib looking down at his babies.

Karen walked over to the crib and gently picked up Anna Maria and placed her securely in Tony's right arm with her head nestled in the crook of his elbow. She then picked up James Edward and placed him securely in Tony's left arm with his head nestled in the crook of his elbow.

"It's easier to do this with someone handing them to you." Karen told him as he hugged his babies gently to his chest. "I'll show you later how to do it when you are alone."

Tony looked down at his children and smiled. He turned to look at Pepper as she quickly smiled back at him, her eyes quickly returning to their babies. He couldn't wait to show their children off to their friends and family. Tony walked carefully towards the door not wanting to jostle the babies too much. The babies had already started to stir when Karen picked them up, but once in Tony's arms they settled right back down again. Karen opened the door for him as she and Pepper trailed just behind Tony as he walked. The waiting room was just down the hall from their room in a large open space with windows and lots of chairs and a big screen TV mounted to the interior partition wall.

Tony slowly walked down the hall as Debbie stepped outside of the waiting area, taking pictures of him carrying their babies, as well as Pepper and Karen as they approached the waiting area. Tony was concentrating on where he was going, so he wouldn't trip. This was his first time carrying his children and he was being extra cautious. He would glance down at them with every step making sure they were doing OK.

When Tony rounded the corner of the room, everyone inside the waiting area grew quiet not wanting to awaken the babies if they were asleep. Charlotte had prepared the group with the ground rules for the visit, so there was no mad rush for Tony and Pepper. Tony stopped near the wall with the TV and began rocking slowly back and forth watching his children intently. Anna Maria suddenly reached out and touched Tony's face with her fingertips. As he smiled down at her, he noticed that James Edward was content just to watch Tony for the moment, his little hands busy feeling along the edge of his blanket. Pepper walked up and stood next to Tony and reached around him with one arm around his shoulders giving him a tender hug.

Eddie and Pepper's parents were the first ones to approach Tony and the twins. Pepper put her arm around his waist and leaned on him as he held their children. Karen had moved to stand right next to Pepper in an effort to oversee the proceedings.

"Cute as bugs." Eddie said as he looked over his newest great grand children. "They got your eyes Pepper." Eddie reached out to hug Pepper. "You done good kiddos!"

"I hope their eyes don't change color as they get older." Anna, Pepper's mom said "They are so beautiful." Tony could tell that she had to physically hold herself back from touching the babies. "I can't wait to get my hands on them so I can start spoiling them rotten!" She reached out and hugged Pepper tightly "I'm so proud of you both." She said as she smiled at Tony. Tony smiled back at her.

Pepper's dad, Ronald smiled at Tony then looked the babies over with a critical eye. "They are going to be tall. Look at the length of those arms." He said smiling at Pepper. "I sense future athletes here." He reached out and gathered Pepper into his arms and gave her a gentle hug.

Eddie, Anna, and Ronald moved over and motioned for Happy and Rhody to come forward.

As Rhody approached Tony noticed that he still had his flight suit on. "When am I going to get to hold my god kids?" he asked smiling at Tony.

"I am going to keep Pepper and the babies overnight here." Karen interrupted with a smile "They can go home tomorrow. So maybe Tony might let you hold them tomorrow. But then only **if** you have clean clothes on and have washed your hands. I **am** the neonatal Nazi you know. That goes for you too, Happy." She said sternly pointing a finger at him.

Up to this point Tony had been silent, which was a rarity for him in a group situation. But he just couldn't take his eyes off of his babies as he continued to gently rock them. He looked up for a second focusing on Rhodes and smiled at him. Rhody nodded at him, understanding.

"I'm not going anywhere soon. I can wait you out." Rhody teased. "I'm staying with Anna and Ronald for a few days." Rhody glanced quickly at Karen who smiled at him. "And yes ma'am, I **will** be germ free when I hold them."

Pepper's nephews came running up behind Rhody stopping just to the side of him. Pepper shot them a warning glance and they froze in their tracks, as Karen laughed at the expressions on their faces.

"We finally have some cousins that are younger than us." Arliss announced looking at the twins expectantly.

Tony smiled at him and crouched down so the boys could get a better look at them.

"Dang, but they're tiny." Little Eddie said, his eyes widening in amazement.

"Twins are usually smaller than normal full term single babies, but they grow quickly." Travis said with self assurance. "I have been doing research."

"You are exactly right, Travis." Karen agreed.

Arliss looked at the babies, his face frowning as if in deep thought. "Don't you worry Anna and James; you'll get big in no time. And your cousins here will always be around to take good care of you."

Pepper moved forward and hugged the three boys in turn.

"It's good to know they have such great cousins to watch out for them." Pepper said as she hugged each of them.

Big Eddie had moved towards the door. "I have a bar-b-que fire to start. Come on boys" Big Eddie called out to them, "time to go.

The boys blurted out their good bys, hugging both Pepper and Karen before they left and giving both Happy and Rhody high fives as they ran past them.

Tony stood back up and began rocking the babies again. He looked down at Anna Maria as she began sucking on her fist.

"Looks like someone is getting hungry." Happy said as he looked down on the babies. "They sure are cute. Hard to believe that they sprung from your loins, Tony."

Tony just smiled at Happy and then looked back at his babies as he continued to rock them gently in his arms. Tony was just too happy at the moment to let anybody's insult bother him.

"Happy, we are going to stay overnight here in the clinic. Hopefully Karen will let us go home early in the morning so we don't attract too much attention in public." Pepper said.

"So far, the coast is clear outside." Happy replied "The earlier you go home tomorrow the better off we are from a security perspective. The Shield folks are going to stay the night at the Rainbow Ranch. They came in under the radar so to speak without the usual marked vehicles and no uniforms, so I don't think they are going to attract too much attention leaving here. We are calling in more security and surveillance for the night as a precaution."

Much to Tony's amazement, James Edwards looked up and actually smiled at Happy. Happy looked down and smiled back at him.

Pepper started laughing. "James Edward sure likes his Uncle Happy."

James heard Pepper's voice and immediately began sucking his fist, just like Anna Maria.

"Sorry to break up the love-in guys, but these babies need to be nursed." Karen interrupted. "Let's get the rest of the Little Rascals gang over here and have one big happy family moment before everyone has to go."

And with that Happy started gathering up Oma and Anna as they all hugged Pepper once more before leaving.

"We will see you tomorrow." Ronald said as he tugged on Anna's arm in order to hurry her up.

"Take good care of those babies, Tony." Rhody said with a smile "And I expect my turn with my god kids tomorrow."

Tony just smiled at him as Rhody shook his head in laughter as he reached out and hugged Pepper once more before he turned and left with Ronald.

Pepper moved back to Tony's side leaned her head wearily on his shoulder. He looked over at her questioningly.

"Just running out of steam." She replied nuzzling his shoulder with her cheek.

Fury and the rest of the Avengers along with Betty and Jane now gathered in front Tony, Pepper, and Karen.

Thor suddenly pushed his way in front of everyone and craned his neck over at Tony peering down on the babies. "They are most handsome, Starks. They will no doubt be strong judging by their arms, and beautiful seeing how they favor Pepper strongly."

"They are precious." Jane said pushing Thor to the side "Congratulations to you both. I know you are proud of them."

Tony looked at Thor with only a trace of a smile in his eyes, but then smiled sincerely at Jane as Pepper hugged her. Thor bent down to hug Pepper also.

"They do have Dad's mouth and the Stark plumage." Natasha said smiling at Pepper as Clint nodded his approval at the babies. "But the rest of them is all Pepper. And they are definitely cute." Pepper reached out to give Natasha a big hug. She then turned to Clint and hugged him too.

"Let's hope that they really don't have Tony's mouth." Bruce said as he put his arm around Betty. "That mouth of his has gotten him and us in enough trouble as it is. One of Tony is definitely enough…maybe even too much."

Tony cut his eyes at Bruce quickly, but then smiled serenely at him. Bruce's eyebrows shot up at Tony's reaction. Bruce was expecting some sort of smart ass reply from Tony but he didn't get it.

Betty elbowed Bruce and he let go of her quickly. "They are gorgeous. It's going to be hard not to spoil them though. It won't take them any time at all for all for their godparents to be wrapped around their little fingers, right Uncle Bruce?" Betty then reached out and enveloped Pepper in a tight hug. Bruce stepped up to Pepper and gave her a quick hug, too.

"Yes, dear." Bruce deadpanned with a small smile as he put his arm back around Betty.

Steve leaned around Natasha to get a better look at the babies. He smiled at Pepper and then Tony "Good looking kids. Congratulations!"

Steve then stepped forward and hugged Pepper gently. Tony locked eyes with Steve as he finished the hug and he slightly nodded his approval to Steve who nodded back.

"Thank you Steve." Pepper replied as she moved back to Tony putting her arm around his waist as she leaned her head against his shoulder again. Tony glanced at her, worried about her. She looked at him as a small smile moved across her face.

"I'm OK." She whispered to him reading his thoughts.

Fury walked up to stand in front of Tony and Pepper as Steve moved to the side of Bruce and Betty. He looked over the babies and solemnly nodded his head in approval. Then he turned to look at Pepper directly.

"Your children are indeed handsome." Fury began with a small smile "Congratulations to you both."

"Thank you, Nick." Pepper replied as she stepped forward to hug him. "And thank you so much again for the beautiful baby blankets."

Tony couldn't help but be surprised that Pepper was on a first name basis now with Fury. But then even with all of his annoying mannerisms Fury **was** a smart man. He knew and appreciated Pepper's value to the Avengers' Initiative as well as to Tony personally. And, after all, Pepper **had** given Fury his weekends back twelve years ago.

"Your parents have graciously allowed all of us to stay at their ranch for a few days." Fury said "And I have heard stories as to your Grandfather's skill at the bar-b-que pit, so I am looking forward to sampling that side of beef he will be cooking today and all night for lunch tomorrow. I haven't had real pit bar-b-que in years."

"Opa's bar-b-que is legendary." Pepper replied with a smile. "We will no doubt be joining all of you for lunch."

As the group waved goodbyes to Tony, Pepper and Karen, and turned towards the door, Fury suddenly turned back around, pointedly looking at his watch. "And just for the record, here" he started as he smiled at Tony "Fourteen minutes and thirty two seconds of silence from Tony Stark. That's a new record. I've known him all of his life and Stark's not even quiet when he is unconscious." Fury paused dramatically, he eyes now locked with Tony's. "Oh and about that open position for grand god father…consider it filled, Stark." And with that Fury walked out the door followed by the rest of the group.

Pepper chuckled as she hugged Tony's hips. She then gently nudged him towards the hallway. Tony smiled and looked at his babies who were still wide awake looking at him intently, their fists crammed into their mouths. "Let's go Iron Dad."

Tony turned to look at her and smiled broadly at her as he let her lead him back down the hallway towards their room. Janice had taken her arm in hers making sure that Pepper was able to walk back to their room safely.

Tony held the babies as Karen helped Pepper change into clean scrubs, washing her hands and her face first, and then helped her into bed, positioning the pads around her so she could nurse. They decided that washing Pepper's hair could wait until after Pepper got a nap in. Tony gently handed James to her first, and then Anna. The babies immediately searched for and found their targets within seconds. Tony sat down on the bed next to Pepper's hip, placed an arm around her waist, and sat there motionless as he watched his favorite three people in the whole world. His children were blissfully nursing, making occasional satisfied noises and Pepper eyes were closed as she softly talked to the babies as she lovingly cradled their heads in her hands. Tony suddenly felt a joy inside of him that he had never, ever felt before. Almost like a super-charged feeling of contentment combined with one of pure happiness. Better than flying, better than anything.

Suddenly Pepper opened her eyes and turned her face towards him and they locked eyes. Tony realized at that moment Pepper felt the same way too. And as they continued to look deeply into each other's eyes, Tony noticed that her gaze had quickly evolved into a look containing both love **and** desire. Tony smiled coyly at her, knowing instinctively that Anna Maria and James Edward were not going to grow up alone. Yes, now there were definitely more Stark babies in their future. Maybe being on diaper duty wouldn't be so bad after all.


End file.
